Prince in Reverse
by Tenae Relicbane
Summary: Deathly Hallows Spoiler. The title is random. Ignore it. This is ultimately a story about Severus and Lily in their 6th year at Hogwarts. A slightly twisted version of Rowling's unfinished tale.
1. The Bliss

b The Author's Note: /b You've heard it before - I don't own the Harry Potter series, JKR does. Also, enjoy the story! It might be hard to update often because I am a very slow writer/thinker and school is hectic. Be patient; I'll try my best.

"Fourth year at Hogwarts already. I can hardly believe it," Severus sighed. The late summer breeze dipped into the valley by the lake and rustled the leaves on ancient trees hanging overhead.

"Neither can I," said Lily. "It seemed just days ago when we received our letters. I was so glad…Petunia never got one though, of course. She still doesn't talk to me much, except when it's time for dinner…or perhaps when Mum needs me…" Lily trailed off as she drifted into the mellow atmosphere around the courtyard.

"She doesn't matter then," Severus said forcefully. This seemed to have knocked Lily, for her face turned stony. Severus recognized this immediately, and hoping to correct his mistake, took a different approach: "I mean, if she can't appreciate who you really are and stop being jealous, then…then that's her fault." Lily managed a feeble smile in response.

"You always look out for me, Severus. Thank you." She slid off the beech's trunk and lay down in the sweet-smelling grass beside him.

Lily's hair blew in the soft air, the ends of her springy locks barely touching his pale, sallow-skinned face, which was now a slight tinge of pink. They slipped into an understanding, wordless, blissful silence. It was moments like these that Severus valued above all else. It was these moments that he cherished, and desired, more and more each day…or was it simply that he desired more?

Lily was his friend from the beginning, his friend when he was an outcast in his own family, his one_ true_ friend, always. Of course, Severus had loads of mischievous fun with his "Death Eater" cronies, but Lily had never approved of them, so for most of his free time, he stuck by her. Talking with her. Taking her in. Cherishing. Desiring. Maybe even….

Suddenly the school bell sounded throughout the grounds. Lily lifted herself off the dewy floor, but Severus lay still on the ground as before, savoring the last bits of peace. Finally he stood up. Lily was waiting with her book sack for him.

"Come on, we shouldn't be late for– Oh, look, you have some grass on your shoulder…"

"I can take care of it -" Severus started, but Lily trotted over and brushed off a clump of grass and soil on his shirt. Her delicate fingers grazed his shoulder before slipping off and returning to her side.

"You really should be more careful to keep your uniform nice and clean, Sev," she said, repositioning her sack. Severus just grimaced. "Well, I've got to be on time for herbology," Lily sighed. "You know how Professor Gilliuan is about tardiness. See you later!"

Severus's eyes followed Lily as she ran off to her next class on the other side of the castle. He stood there, staring at the place where Lily had rounded the corner, before gathering his senses and trudging off to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Though D.A.D.A. was his favorite class and he always looked forward to it, Severus Snape couldn't keep his mind off something else….


	2. The Kiss

It was mid-October already at Hogwarts. The air felt chill and brisk against Severus' pale, rosy-tinged face. Lily walked beside him up the stone steps to the entrance of the castle, her cheeks sharing a similar complexion. They were headed toward the last class of the day, Potions, which the Gryffindors and Slytherins took together.

For the past month, Severus and Lily had spent many afternoons outside together, talking about life and lessons one day, and basking in mostly silence the next. As the days grew cold, the two could find little time to spend with each other, except maybe passing in the halls or in the few classes they attended together. Severus sustained his usual demeanor during school, but secretly he longed more for the company of one so careful and understanding; only when he was in Lily's presence could he find true relaxation and happiness. When she left his side, he only wanted her back next to him. Severus had even planned and memorized several ways to sneak off at night, but of course, these ideas lay idle and unspoken in his mind.

By now all of the students had descended into the cold dungeons. As they entered the classroom, Lily and Severus took their places at the only two seats left, adjacent to James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, who sat across the aisle.

"Oi, Evans!" James called, a smirk apparent on his face. "Still sitting with slimy old Snivellus, are you? Why don't you try someone with a sense of personal hygiene?" Everyone laughed, and Sirius slapped James on the back. Severus sneered and reached for his wand, but Lily turned to James.

"I'd rather go out with the giant squid than you, Potter," Lily snapped. "At least it doesn't have such an inflated ego."

A succession of ooh's followed, but James looked like he was not about to give up anytime soon. Just then, a hush fell over the room. Severus stuffed his wand back in his robes as Professor Slughorn stepped into the chamber.

"Good afternoon, class! Jolly cold day it is, eh?" Slughorn called as he strolled across to his desk. He coughed out a lump in his throat and then began, "Let's see – oh yes, here we are. Yesterday we learned about the Draught of Living Death and how powerfully effective even a single drop can be."

Professor Slughorn pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose loudly. "Oh, terribly sorry…just a cold…" he mumbled. "Well, then. Today we will be experimenting on how to produce this wonderful substance, but I must warn you that it is extremely complicated material, and the perfect antidote is even rarer than a correctly-developed Draught. Therefore, I must ask you to -"

Professor Slughorn stopped short; he inhaled sharply and sneezed all over the classroom. "Goodness…I really should see myself to the Hospital Wing soon…"

A girl at the front of the class groaned and grimaced with disgust.

"Ah, Miss McDonald! Sorry about that. _Scourgify._" The professor cleaned up his excess and cleared his throat once more before continuing. "Therefore, I must ask you to take absolute caution when dealing with this potion. I cannot guarantee your full recovery if this is ingested." Slughorn paused for dramatic effect and then stated cheerily, "Instructions and all you need to know are on the board. Begin!"

At once there was a rushing around for instruments and ingredients, after which the students sat down and went about their work quickly and almost noiselessly.

Half an hour passed; halfway through the class, Professor Slughorn walked around the room, occasionally looking into a cauldron or even sniffing the contents. When he came around to Lily's cauldron, he exclaimed with delight.

"Wonderful, Miss Evans, just brilliant!" he said, peering over the rim. "Observe, class – the potion in its mature state is an evenly smooth inky-black mixture. No odor escapes it, but get too close to the fumes and you may feel drowsy. Excellent, Miss Evans! I'm not sure some of even by best fifth-years could have managed it, but I stand here amazed. Ten points to Gryffindor!"

Lily beamed with pride and many of the Gryffindor girls surrounded her with congratulations. Suddenly, the professor gave an overly loud cough and managed to hack up a revolting dark green substance all over the floor. The classroom erupted in echoes of disgust.

"Oh, dear, dear…" Professor muttered to himself, looking sickly. "Um…er…class dismissed…remember to clean up all your materials…carefully..." He promptly ran full-speed out of the room and all the students packed up as quickly as possible to get to the safety of their common rooms.

As the sixth-years filed speedily out of the classroom, Severus bent down to clean up the mess that his professor had left. Lily waited patiently for him behind the desk, not noticing that four other students had lingered behind.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stood in a huddle, and Sirius sniggered as James whispered something to them. Then James turned to face Lily and Severus.

"Oh, we're in luck!" he said loud enough for the other two to hear. "It's just us and Evans. But wait – here's little snotty Snivellus! I say we have some fun with him, eh, Moony?" James nudged Remus with his elbow, but he and Peter just shrank back away from the scene, hoping they wouldn't have to get involved.

While James was off his guard, Severus whipped out his wand and shouted, "_Impedimenta!_"

Lily was struck dumb with horror as James went flying backwards into a chair. Sirius pulled out his wand and said, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Severus' wand flew out of his grip and into Sirius' free hand. He stood there a moment motionless, not certain what he would do next. Luckily, Lily interjected:

"Stop this, all of you! Give Severus his wand back!" She was furious and it showed on her beet-red face.

"So sorry, Evans, but I don't think we're done playing with old Snivelly just yet," James said with a snicker. Lily was at boiling point; she was just about to reach for her wand when James pointed his own at Severus and called, "_Levicorpus!_"

Immediately, Snape hung upside down by his left foot, dangling over Lily's fuming cauldron which still contained the Draught of Living Death.

"NO!" Lily shouted, but there was virtually nothing she could do to stop it. "Get him down right now! _Please!_" She stood there powerless and was on the verge of tears as Severus' face became red and his eyes drooped as fumes billowed up from the surface of her potion.

James grinned jauntily. "And what are you going to do about it, Evans? I think we'd all like to know how far you'd go to save poor Snivvy-Poo."

"You filthy git!" Lily cried. "You filthy, monstrous little git! Let him down _now_!"

James clicked his tongue. "You're not saving your boyfriend any faster by calling me names. You know that, Evans?" Lily stood breathing deeply, a look of utter loathing on her face. "I'll let him down on one condition," James continued, the grin growing broader. "But are you willing to do it?"

"Fine," Lily half-whispered, her expression unchanging.

"Alright then," James said cheerily. "Lily Evans…I, James Potter, am granting the release of one Snivellus Snape on the condition that…" His smile grew even more. "On the condition that Lily Evans gives me a kiss."

Lily's face was now a mixture of horror and utter insult, and James' had reached its peak of triumph. However, there was no other choice, no way out of the situation. Severus watched through exhausted eyes the ordeal that was about to shatter his life…his careful plans…his watching, and waiting, and hoping…the scene that was meant to include _him_, not that bastard, James….

Lily took one step toward him, her eyes pointed down at the ground. They were about to well up with tears, but she swallowed hard and forced them back. Going slow would not make anything right; she might as well get it over with now. One by one, she stepped carefully over to James. At last, after what seemed like hours, Lily found herself standing directly in front of him. She looked up at him, but to her surprise, James' expression was no longer cocky and triumphant. For the most part his face was blank; but did she detect a nervous twitch somewhere?

A lip quivered. Her voice shaking, she managed to say, "James Potter. I just want you to know…that I hate…you."

Then she leaned in. Severus fought internally; he could not watch this. It was unbearable. But he had to know. He had to know it happened. He had to know that she felt as much pain now as he did. And the only way to do that was to simply watch.

Just as their lips were about to meet, James took hold of Lily and pulled her body into his. She did not struggle. In fact, she did not seem to do anything to resist. Lily hung limply against James' chest like an old lifeless puppet. As Severus watched, a single tear escaped the lip of his eye and slipped down his forehead. James and Lily seemed to stand there for eternities. Those were the most painful moments of Severus Snape's life.

Finally, James let go. Lily collapsed onto the floor, her face buried deep in the folds of her hands. He looked down at her figure, and a feeling of remorse swept over him. He was only having a bit of fun; what had he really done? James felt compelled to reach out, to touch Lily, in any effort to calm her, but he knew that even his mere presence had shaken her. He gestured to his cronies, who had all stood silently in the background, signaling them to make an exit. Then, almost forgetting about Severus, James lowered him onto the stone floor with a swish of his wand, and reluctantly followed his friends out into the hall.

Severus lay on the floor and groaned. Stars were rushing through his head quickly and his vision was blurred. As he sat up, he felt the blood leaving his head and a horrible throbbing shot through his forehead. He crawled over to where Sirius had laid his wand, picked it up, and pointing it at his head whispered, "_Ennervate_."

Immediately his head was cleared and his headache calmed; Severus looked around the room and the first thing he noticed was Lily's crumpled frame sitting on the floor. She was hugging her knees to her chest and stared at them; or rather, not at them, but into another unseen vision. Desolation was imprinted clearly on her face. Severus quietly walked over to Lily and bent down in front of her.

"Lily," he began, but he could not find any other words to say. There seemed to be none left but one, the only and most important word in the world to him.

Lily slowly looked up at Severus, his pale face glowing in the dim light. Though she did not smile, her expression lifted noticeably. She waited for him to finish what he was about to say, but realized that he wasn't going to finish; it was her turn.

She searched for the rights words to say as thousands upon thousands raced through her mind. Suddenly, Lily acted on impulse and embraced her friend. Severus was frozen for a moment as a feeling like hot lava shot through his stomach, but then his eyes were opened and he pulled her in closer.

At last, Lily discovered that there was no need for apologies or long stories or unnecessary speeches at that moment. She had found the right word; placing her cheek against his, she whispered softly, "Severus."

**The Author's Note:** Please Review! This chapter was three pages longer than the first. I hope you like it; the next chapter will come out as soon as possible, though I can't guarantee it will be soon as I am not sure what will happen yet.


	3. Through Her Eyes

**A Recap of Recent Events:**

Her chest pounded as Lily and James' lips found each other. Although she was covered in goose bumps and her stomach soared up to her throat as she partook in the scene that had never meant to happen, the feeling of him against her was incomprehensible. For a moment she forgot herself; the kiss was prolonged and she only partially noticed when James pulled her in close. Now she could catch a scent wafting toward her. The scent of – what was this? – simply _clean_ was the only way she could describe it.

And then, as if by imagining contrast, Lily thought of the boy who was currently suffering for her sake…hanging powerless over fatal fumes…witnessing the destruction of their lives. She stood motionless for a final second before subtly breaking off her lips from James. His hands slipped from her waist and she was suspended in air, gracefully falling onto the cool, grimy floor. The smell was lost. The kiss had ended.

Reality hit her as hard as her body hit the ground, actually realizing what she had just done. Lily buried her face in her hands and tried not to break out in sobs. She felt remorse, and wished that she could take everything back; she felt anger, and wished that she could tear out her hair; then she felt longing, and just wished.

A series of shuffling and low whispers issued from behind her, and one by one, the noises traveled away, dimmed, and were silenced. Lily barely acknowledged them, however; her thoughts drifted from daisies in the park to branches on trees, and back again, and over, and over... Now she noticed another indistinct, awkward shuffling and a whisper, this time from a single speaker. The sound grew closer until it stopped directly in front of her. The faintest breath fell against her skin, and a sound issued from this:

"Lily."

Severus barely used her name. Ever so slowly, Lily lifted her head to find his face only a foot away from hers. His expression was searching and held a hint of concern. She did not smile; she could not. Instead, she changed her mien from distraught to blank, almost equal to that of his. They stared at each other in wordless understanding, unblinking and unmoving.

Suddenly, Lily felt a great impulse and, without missing a beat, wrapped her arms around Severus in an act that had never occurred to her before. For a moment she feared that he would recoil, but eventually he relaxed and squeezed back in reply. A rush of emotions filled her insides, but she had no time for them. Only one word throbbed incessantly inside her head which she found she could no longer ignore.

Placing her cheek against his, she felt the warmth of his breath once again on her skin, and whispered just as softly, "Severus."

Lily and Severus barely talked for the next week. Passing in the halls, they mostly just eyed each other for a few brief moments, then blushingly went their separate ways. When in class, they only talked when needed; it seemed that they either had too much on their mind, or not much to say at all to each other... Through this awkward period, James still teased Lily, but instead of responding she gave him a hard, cold stare that shut him up instantly.

About a week after the incident, Lily ascended the steps to the girls' dormitory after having dinner in the Great Hall. Her mind was still full of thoughts about the post-Potions class scenario as she dropped into her bed. She suddenly ached for a Pensieve as new memories lifted themselves before her closed eyes, emerging from the depths of her mind, then flitting away into the darkness, lost forever. Lily tried to recount exactly what had occurred: at first she imagined Severus jinxing James, then more series of spells were cast, but she could not help but to race to the first important detail –

She was pulled into James…He smelled fresh…His skin was warm…And of course, he was an excellent, however surprisingly passionate kisser. They fit so well together, against each other's bodies…Now she could recall his sighing chest, and wondered what they looked like standing there together…

Lily shook the thoughts from her head. It was her first real kiss; this new infatuation must only be fleeting. She now imagined the pain that it had caused Severus to watch the ordeal, and the pain that it probably still inflicted upon him. Why was she so selfish? Then a new memory flashed before her eyes:

This time, it was Lily who pulled Severus into her body. They sat in silent understanding until Lily whispered, "Severus…" A line of tears ran down her smooth face and fell onto his shoulder. Once he noticed, Severus pulled away from the embrace and stared at her, wishing to know what happened, wishing to say something, to stay there forever with her. Lily wiped her own tears away and paused, also wishing to do those things that she could not bring herself to. Grudgingly, she pulled herself up and gathered her pack silently, pretending not to notice that Severus was still slumped on the stone tiles. Before exiting through the door, she turned back and looked with desperation at him. However, there was nothing else she could do, and she left without another word.

Now Lily lay quietly in her bed, and knew that she had lied to herself. Without making another sound, she crept out of bed and pulled on her nightgown, stowing her wand away in her pocket. Lily was never a trouble maker, and would never be caught dead around the corridors at night; but as she padded down the stairs and stepped out of the portrait hole from the Gryffindor common room, the answer became clear.

There _was_ one last thing to do, and it definitely deserved rule breaking.


End file.
